The Steelhaven Flies Again
Folassian Forest -- Nebulos The Folassian forest stretches out for miles over the surface of the planet. Grassy fronds have reclaimed much of the devastation laid upon the world from the Decepticon occupation, and leafy trees now stretch high into the sky to swat at the sun. Raccoon and squirrel-like creatures scurry about collecting nuts and berries and birds sing sweetly in the undergrowth. Contents: Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven > Scattershot says, "Alright Bots, you heard the chief...er, the chiefs. Littering is against Autobot regs. All fliers, meet me in the Forest near the Steelhaven's 'landing' site." Scattershot says, "We're gonna get this heap back into space where it belongs." Fanfare says, "Aye aye." Red Alert has encrypted this channel. Red Alert says, "A little heads up /before/ you start announcing our plans in the future, please?" Noah Wolfe chuckles. Scattershot says, "We like to keep you comm Bots on your toes." Fanfare says, "Ah'm arrivin' shortly. Ahve' the heavy duty reinforced cables we'll need too." Red Alert says, "Which, in turn, gives the Decepticons a head start in keeping you folks on the field on your toes. Good strategy!" Silverbolt has arrived. First Aid has arrived. Nightbeat has left. Nightbeat boards Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven >. Scattershot stands on top of the Steelhaven, hands on his hips as others arrive. He eyes the ruined hull speculatively. "Well, the good news is we won't need to worry about maintaining hull integrity - since it's got none. Not anymore." On the ground, Silverbolt paces around the bulk of the Steelhaven, looking for ways the Autobots can rig the thing up so that it doesn't break apart any further when they all try to move it. Folding down and around, Fanfare transforms from a Starry Night CF-130 Super Hercules into his robot mode. Fanfare is currently hooking up cables and lines to the ship. Not single ones, but a web of one for each of those towing, each one reinforced sturdiyl. With expert practice he tests the hold of each one, laying the rest carefully in a pile for hook up to the three of them. Circling around he salutes Silverbolt "All lines ready!" he reports in a rumble. Auto-Junk Dee-Kal says, "What is smurfing..? Clean up..?" Red Alert says, "In a manner of speaking." Auto-Junk Dee-Kal says, "And on our toes..?" Sureshot has arrived. Raindance has arrived. Raindance's tiny trianglar form buzzes in. "Hi guys!" he chirps. "I hear you need some heavy duty space-jets!" Jazz says, "Hey cats, I gotta catch up on some paperwork, apparently... there's, uh... a ton of it. Y'all can handle this without me, I'm sure. Scatts and Bolt, it's your baby...try not to damage it too much more than it's already seen!" Dee-Kal arrives from the Lookout Point -- Nebulos to the south. Dee-Kal has arrived. "No hull integrity means we'll have to be that much careful moving it, Scattershot," Silverbolt comments as he conducts a second inspection of the cables. Finally, he nods and moves over to one of the harness points, the Concorde falling into a towing position as he transforms. Silverbolt falls foward, limbs tucking in and under as nosecone and tail assemblies unfold. The Concorde is ready for takeoff, well, as ready as he's going to be. Sureshot returns from patrol at the word that the Steelhaven is getting moved. Best to be around for that! Bad enough that he couldn't be on-hand to defend the thing when Abominus came calling last night. He transforms up into robot mode, Spoilsport leaping from his driver's cab as he does, and looks around at all the activity. The sharpshooter can't help a faint smirk as Raindance volunteers himself, then he approaches the others. "Need help for the hook-up?" Fanfare looks up at Raindance and smiles "'ang on." he states, and hooks up a fourth set of lines to attatch to Raindance. "Ye'll be pulling more UP than forwards, tae help keep 'er stabilized." he explains. Then he nods to Sureshot "Aye. Ets hard tae hook up tae meself." he states gratefully, going over quickly how to attach the net of cables to each one as he moves towards Silverbolt to begin on the Aerialbot commander Brainstorm arrives from Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven >. Brainstorm has arrived. Dee-Kal can fly. Yes, she can. But instead of this, the petite Junkette chooses to run, instead. It's good to run. She draws to a halt at the site of the ship. "Ahoy... Aloha people! I am here!" Scattershot nods at Raindance. "You heard right. Hope you're rated for towing." He takes one end of a heavy tow-cable and clips it onto a special ridge on the armor on his chest. Another one is attached to his waist. Then he transforms into his battlecruiser mode and emits massive amounts of output from his engines and maneuvering thrusters, angling them in different directions to cause a highly inefficient hover. The cables now trail down below him. "Yeah...somebody hook me up. To the front. I'm sticking with this thing all the way up into orbit." Scattershot transforms into battlecruiser mode. Dee-Kal says, "Doko ni watashi ga hitsuyou desu ka? Where do you want me?" Sureshot gives a single, sharp nod of his head and follows Fanfare as he hooks Silverbolt up, listening to the instructions in the meantime, though there are times when he has to ask for a repetition as he tries to work through Fanfare's accent. "All right, I've got... erm... that guy, and I'll hook you up once I'm done?" Then he looks around at everyone. "By the way... lot of folks here I don't recognize. I'm Sureshot." He gestures to his Nebulan. "This is Spoilsport." First Aid is on top of the Steelhaven as well, next to Scattershot. He's going to be riding the ship up for most of the way and monitoring things from the outside. Currently he's busy tying off all the cables to the ship's hardpoints. He's available to tie to the Autobots as well if they need it. Brainstorm hops out of the hangar of the Steelhaven, waving at the Autobots. "Hey, everyone! Do you need any help?" Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven > has Nightbeat at the extremely damaged helm, frowning over the heavily busted controls. Boy, it's lucky for this mission that he hasn't started drinking yet today, but that's about the only lucky thing. He'd sure feel better if he was drinking, anyway. Fanfare repeats as many times as possible to ensure Sureshot had it right. Then he nods "Fanfare." he tosses a light Salute, moving to a position behind Scattershot "Ah cannae keep up wit' ye, So ah'll pull as 'ard an' fast as ah can fer as high as ah ken, then let ye do the rest." he states softly "An' prepare tae catch just in case." he trasnforms, his form spreading out to its one hundred and thirty feet wingspan, and then he starts his engines... one at a time, each prop spins slowly, then speeds up. The wind accelerates, dust and debris flying as the roaring of his engines builds to near deafening, small openings near his tail unopening to take the cable leads. Dee-Kal joins Brains and Sures, making sure she acknowledges the Nebulan at her feet. She looks keen for something to do to be part of the team. "And I'm Silverbolt," the Concorde replies. "Hello to both of you. I'd shake hands, but..." a flick of wing-flaps reminds why he hasn't any hands free right now. "All right Fanfare, you're our expert in this." The Concorde's nose droops and wing-flaps return to a takeoff-ready position as Silverbolt prepares to join the others in literally getting this thing off the ground. Battlecruiser < Scattershot > hovers in place (with a little wobbling) towards the front of the Steelhaven as he's connected via tow cables. He shouts to be heard over the sound of his and everyone else's engines. "Smaller fliers, get yourselves connected to the sides. Us bigger jets'll provide the lift, but we'll need some tricky maneuvering once we get this thing moving." He adds in a slightly lower voice to First Aid, "Maybe you can coordinate the other ground-pounders...get them to monitor the ship's attitude and velocity. And someone needs to watch for pieces fallin' off." Brainstorm hms. "So.. we're going to be towing this thing up into space? That's an interesting idea. I don't have enough thrust to reach escape velocity, but I'll help you carry it up as high as I can." He takes up a position by the side of the ship, and transforms. His head, Arcana, hops off and begins to grab some cables. "Never imagined I'd be used as a tow truck!" Brainstorm folds up his limbs and snaps out his nose section as he converts into a quick and powerful fighter! First Aid nods to Scattershot, "Will do," he promises as he continues with his tying duties. The Protectobot can't recall the last time they've pulled off an operation quite so grand before. Sureshot heads over to hook Fanfare up, but as he passes, he gestures towards Brainstorm. "You... uhm... female person. You mind getting him hooked up?" He keeps moving, then pauses. "That backpack of yours just decoration?" Dee-Kal flexes her wings, looking keen. She grabs at an armful of cables and takes to the air, cables behind her. The Junkette flies in the same direction as everyone else. "You wish these connected?" "Ah thenk ye fur yer confidence, Silverbolt. I've team towed afair, thought naethin' quite thes grain." Then the old REfueller's voice booms out, somehow outpowering his own engines. "Allrecht! As Scattershot sed, thes is hoo it will wark - I've th' longest tak' off length, but a sudden tension tae th' cables can cause it tae snap! Sae sadly, we're aw gonnae hae tae tak' aff together at mah speed. Ah'll accelerate as fast as possible. Make sure yer cables bide tense th' entire way. Onie slack shoods be corrected immediately afair it gits tay much. Keep communicatin' wi' each other. pull baith up an' forawrds, an' ensure ye dornt gie intae each other's wingspans. when we reach mah ceilin', i'll drap mah lines an' follaw underneath until we're sure liftoff is complete." His engines build up, revving until small stones rattled. Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven > has another problem: the Decepticons specifically attacked the controls. Nightbeat is a decent pilot, used to tough situations, but if he can do so much as get a quarter of the control surfaces answering to commands from here, he'll call it a miracle and drink to it. Except he has no drinks. Slaggit. Hopefully some of the smaller fliers can help with handling. Dee-Kal flies from the Steelhaven to Fanfare, and starts securing cables. She works as best she can with the big cables, pulling each one into line with the others, flying back for a new armful. "I feel like a spider..." she quips. Sureshot does his part in cable-connecting, but after awhile he climbs to the top of the Steelhaven, joining First Aid. He flexes his right hand and Spoilsport leaps up and transforms, landing in his hand as a gun. From there, he begins to walk the length of the ship, checking all the hard points. Dee-Kal drops a cable and zips back to retrieve it. She tickles Sures on the back of the neck in passing. "Yoo-hoo, I see you..!" she jokes and continues on her way towards Fanfare. "Ready over here," Silverbolt calls. He may be the one with the highest ceiling other than those built for space travel... but it occurs to him that he hopes anyone flying below won't cause him to look down too much. Just because he manages to look calm and steady as he waits in this tow-rigging, doesn't mean he likes the high-altitude part of the whole idea. Arcana soon has Brainstorm snugly secured with a bevy of cables. "All done over here! Ahh, I was not privy to your efforts earlier, but I trust you have taken precautions to ensure that no debris falls from the ship onto Nebulos? If something comes loose there's no telling where it will land!" Fanfare rolls forwards slowly until his cables were taut "Redeh!" he bellows after Silverbolt "On Yer command, Scattershot." Dee-Kal secures the last of her cables just in time. "Phew! REAdy when you are, MASter Fanfare!" Battlecruiser < Scattershot> bobs in place now, almost restlessly. Occasionally he lets himself pull forward enough to tug lightly on the cables connecting him to the Steelhaven, testing to make sure they're secure. Scattershot says, "Fliers're ready. Steelhaven team? You Bots ready?" Fanfare says, "Redeh!" First Aid flashes the thumbs up sign to the fliers, "We're all secure here," he calls out. "We're ready to go on your mark, Scattershot." Brainstorm says, "Ready!" Nightbeat gulps, "Uhm... ready. Yeah." Scattershot says, "Let's do this." Sureshot scrucnches his shoulders as Dee-Kal tickles the back of his neck. He spins and frowns after her, then snorts. Then he kneels, bracing himself with his free hand. Sureshot says, "Ready." Battlecruiser < Scattershot>'s rear-facing jets all increase output until they're at full military burn, while any maneuvering thrusters directed forwards flicker off. The glow from each of his massive main engines grows into a huge plume of blueish flame nearly twice the length of Scattershot's own form. His VTOL thrusters continue to burn lightly, keeping him above the Steelhaven's fore, letting his streams of jetwash skim over the upper hull rather than scorching into the front end. He has to really scream to be heard over the noise now. "LET'S DO IT BOTS! GO GO GO! DON'T STOP 'TIL YOU SEE STARS IN THE SKY!" Fanfare Accelerates as he sees Scattershot. He jolts a little bit as the lines tense, then the pitch of his props whine loudly as he puts his all into it. Dee-Kal flies along the cables, inspecting along the length even as they become taut. She spies a few on Scattershot coming lose and flies in to re-secure them as best she can, pop-up wrist tools out and working busily. "Stay in place!" she tells them, as if it will help. As the large fliers start to move, she remains attentive to the cables until the last second. Silverbolt's engines are burning too as he pulls. "Steady, Scattershot. We'll pull it apart if we don't move together," he seems to have little trouble maching speeds with the others, but then his own team is a pretty diverse wing all by itself. First Aid holds on tightly to one of the cable hardpoints as the fliers begin putting all their oomph into the work. The doctor can feel the 'ground' moving slightly as the hard work of the Autobots is put to good use. "It's moving," he calls out. Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven> lurches into the air awkardly, like an ostrich carried aloft by a pair of hang-gliders. Nightbeat is nearly knocked off his feet, where he stands inside, but the the detective manages to grab a console and stay standing. He flips switches, murmuring curses under his exhaust, and then he pleads, "C'mon, baby, you're goin' back to space, where you belong." Once the Steelhaven is back in the air, Sureshot carefully goes from kneeling to a fully standing position, taking one last moment to pat the top of the ship when he thinks no one is looking. Then he starts to once more pace the length, alert for signs of trouble. Jet waits for Arcana to hop back inside, and ignites his own engines, flames leaping out behind him. The cords are drawn tight but manage to stay secured. Arcana is eccentric, but he knows what he's doing. "Roger that, Scattershot! Man, this is exciting!" "Just wait until you have to help put it back together, son!" Arcana warns. "That won't be quite as much fun!" Dee-Kal continues to brace against the sound and the turbulence of three large fliers all doing their thing at once. She checks the cables one last time, flying as fast and as close as she can to their length to ensure that they are all in place on each respective Autobot altmode. She touches her radio. Fanfare watches Arcana and Brainstorm from where he was, flinching a little as he noticed they started with slack cords. He says nothing though. or if he does, his roaring engines overpower it as he tugs along, rumbling along the 'runway' long after the others had lifted off entirely. Finally though he pulls his nose up, speed enough to keep him aloft. "Liftoff!" he radios to the others. Battlecruiser < Scattershot> laughs in savage joy when he feels the ship begin to move. Successful applications of brute force -always- brighten Scattershot's day. But he does adjust his efforts slightly at Silverbolt's advice. No matter how much Scattershot hates to admit it, from a pure flyer perspective the Aerialbot leader is a more skilled pilot. "WE'RE DOING IT BOTS! KEEP IT UP!" Auto-Junk Dee-Kal says, "Steady as she goes, big guys! Stay focused! Make sure you are straightened up! Keep it smooth..!" "Maybe not," Silverbolt calls over to ...whoever that new guy is. "But we'll- " his speech is interrupted by a roar of engines as the Concorde strains to pull his share of the bulk, "have plenty of people to help. Yours and ours." And whatever else they do, maybe they can keep Silverbolt's processors off the ground receding below. First Aid latches on with both hands to avoid being blown off the ship by the rapidly accelerating Steelhaven. <> he reports, << I'm not seeing any stress from the hull. Nightbeat, how do the systems look in there?>> he asks as they climb higher and higher. Dee-Kal lands on the Steelhaven's hull and maglocks to the surface beside First Aid. 'Cables are all smurfing' she says by radio, to be heard over the roar of rhe wind and the engines. 'Err - holding.' Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven> is not looking particularly good inside, but that's to be expected. Nightbeat dodges off to the left as a pipe comes loose and tries to impale him. He radios back, <> Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven> moves south to the Lookout Point -- Nebulos. Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven> has left. You follow Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven>. You move south to the Lookout Point -- Nebulos. Lookout Point -- Nebulos Deep in the Folassian Forest, there are many beautiful, tranquil waterfalls and look-out points, perfect for young couples to park their speeders and enjoy tender moments together. Unfortunately, due to the way Nebulos rotates and its planetary geometry, this peaceful place is also a great location to land a spaceship. Contents: Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven> Autobot Flagship Junkion Shuttle Reidan Wesley Wood Shed Sam Terran Shuttle < Intrepid> EDC Mobile Base Autobot Flagship The Orion Pax looms before you, currently configured in its attack configuration. Less resembling an aircraft carrier than some kind of futuristic battleship, its bow has been transformed into two parallel prong segments that bristle with beam cannon turrets, missile arrays and mass-driver rails. The bridge tower has lowered down into the rear quarter, with additional armored panels rising to protect it from attack. At the nexus of the two bow prongs is the aperture port for the ship's powerful main cannon, a gaping hole surrounded by a slowly revolving magnetic containment ring. Fanfare arrives from the Folassian Forest -- Nebulos to the north. Fanfare has arrived. Silverbolt arrives from the Folassian Forest -- Nebulos to the north. Silverbolt has arrived. Brainstorm arrives from the Folassian Forest -- Nebulos to the north. Brainstorm has arrived. First Aid arrives from the Folassian Forest -- Nebulos to the north. First Aid has arrived. Sureshot arrives from the Folassian Forest -- Nebulos to the north. Sureshot has arrived. Jet pours on the heat, and remains stable in the air. "I can't wait to work with you guys! We'll just have to call up Perceptor, Wheeljack, and Ratchet. I'm sure with their help we'll have this thing patched up in no time!" Autobot Flagship is not yet in sight. Not just yet. And when it does arrive, it will be from behind the others. But for now, it's still up in space, coming in for the approach, preparing for the transfer - watching. Fanfare continues to accelerate until he was on top speed, lifting up and keeping below the others. He tips his nose up, using his broad wings to lift himself without getting in the others' way as he rumbles, and notes "Ten secunds tae me ceiling. When ah let go, ye'll all feel the weight roight?" Dee-Kal arrives from the Folassian Forest -- Nebulos to the north. Dee-Kal has arrived. <> First Aid replies to Dee-Kal's radio message. He got the answer to his question before he even had to finish asking it. <> he transmits back to Nightbeat. Hopefully 'red lining' means it's still at least good enough to have the diagnostics system run on it, fore plumbing notwithstanding. Fanfare says, "Ten secunds tae me ceiling. When ah let go, ye'll all feel the weight roight?"" Red Alert says, "Bringing the Pax into position." Silverbolt says, "Right, and ready." Sideswipe says, "Two minutes." Auto-Junk Dee-Kal says, "Keep me smurfed of running problems. I can fix as we go. Once we hit space I cannot smurf in regular mode." Silverbolt says, "Watch the cables. There's about to be a lot more tension on the rest of ours." Sureshot says, "I'm watchin the cables." Fanfare says, "Releasin cables nao. Ah'll trail behind in case o a problem." Jet radios back, "Oh, I bet we will. But we'll probably be able to stay in the air a little longer, over here. Like I said, though, I'm not built for space flight!" Scattershot grunts. "Ready for the final push. You call it 'Bolt." *CLUNK* The magnetic cables attatched to the ship from Fanfare suddenly let go. The Hercules suddenly leaps forwards, over shooting the others from the sudden lack of anchoring. Reeling in his lines he starts to drop down and away. Battlecruiser < Scattershot> strains mightily against the heavy tow cables connecting him to the Steelhaven. His entire frame is shuddering now as he begins to rise through the atmosphere. Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven> does have a lot of plain non-functional systems, it is true. It's just that the ones that are working, barely, are all red-lined. A few more of those red-line systems fizzle out entirely in front of Nightbeat's optical band. His mouth is set, and his manner is determined as he tries to coax every bit of peromance out of this wounded bird that he can. <> Behind the party, but coming up fast, his the massive form of the Orion Pax, a vessel so massive that its upper levels are still not within the atmosphere. It parts the clouds, sailing through the sky, the deep, rumbling thrum of its engines so low that it's almost a subconscious sound. As it nears, it's lower hanger-hatch opens. Fanfare says, "Everythin looks good from down 'ere, lads." Fanfare follows behind, although he was quickly being outpaced by the faster jets now that they were not inhibited by his speed. Cables reeled in, he watches. Jet grunts as the lines pull hard on him. "Oh, geeze! I know he tried to warn me, but... wow!" His jets burn white hot behind him as he struggles to push out more thrust. "I won't be able to do this for long, guys!" As he spies the warship approaching, Arcana and Brainstorm both gasp in awe. "Look at the size of it!" Arcana sputters. "It's as big as my home town! Oh, I can't wait to see what's in there!" Scattershot grates with effort. "Closing in...on rendevouz point...picking up something...on sensors...something BIG. Hope that's...the Orion." The Concorde alongside is shaking too as he pulls right back against the cables suddenly taut with more of the Steelhaven's weight. "Got to keep this up," the words come out slowly as Silverbolt focuses on other systems. "There it is!" The relief in his voice on seeing the Pax's approach is obvious. Red Alert says, "Confirmed." Sureshot looks skywards, the sun reflecting off his mirror-lensed optic band, and whistles slowly. "That's... some ship," he says softly, tone hushed. Scattershot says, "Hang tight Bots, we're nearly there!" Fanfare says, "Aye. Sure is purdy nae?" First Aid doesn't get many chances to fly, and fly up to /space/ no less, so for him this is something of a thrill. Still, it doesn't stop him from paying attention to his job. Using the handholds normally reserved for EVA-style Transformer work, First Aid climbs to the side of the Steelhaven and looks down, << Starboard side appears intact.>> He starts to crawl towards the port side. Auto-Junk Dee-Kal says, "Remaining cables holding. Stay on track everysmurf..! Somebody countdown to atmosphere ceiling... Brrr. Not long now..." Fanfare says, "Ye can do et. level out some - let the atmosphere do the work!" Fanfare says, "More forwards, less oop!" Sureshot shakes himself out of his state, and turns back to looking down at the cables. With his free hand, he absently rubs his other forearm, watching for the danger of a stuck cable, something not dropping away when it should. Battlecruiser < Scattershot> leads the huge form of the Steelhaven towards the designated point in space, where the even bigger Orion Pax will swoop in, hangar bay ready, and catch the Steelhaven gently. Well, maybe not gently. But both ships are rugged, built Autobot-tough, and this is the kind of recklessly dangerous operation Autobot lore is filled with. Scattershot says, "Standby for docking!" Scattershot says, "ETA, damn quick!" Fanfare says, "Ye passin out o me field o' scanners now lads. From 'ere on, ye on yer own. Ah'll return to Fortress Maximus." Dee-Kal scans the cables from her position atop the Steelhaven, optic visor down to protect from the sun's glare. 'Apologies, I am unable to fly along the cables now. Optical survey suggests all is well. Once we are in space we should have momentum on our side. Going aboard the Haven.' Silverbolt says, "All's holding so far. Thanks for your help, Fanfare." Fanfare says, "Ye welcome. E't IS me function after awl." Fanfare says, "Heh. Ah just weesh ah could be wit ye till the end." Auto-Junk Dee-Kal says, "Love and kisses, Fanfare. *Smurfacious* work!" Fanfare says, "Awww. Thank ye Lass. Usually ah was the one takin' instructions. Ye lads did good though." Fanfare says, "Team-towing aint esae." Red Alert says, "Standing by for docking." Auto-Junk Dee-Kal says, "We are one SMURF of a team!" Silverbolt says, "We're Autobots. Working together is what we do." Dee-Kal has left. Dee-Kal boards Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven>. The subconscious rumbling grows louder, until it feels like the very ticking of one's internal processing clocks, until the sky, from the perspective of those around the Steelhaven, is nothing but the Pax, and the welcoming glow of the open hanger, and still the rumble grows, and still the distance closes... Fanfare slows his engines, pretty much gliding back to Nebulos below and the mobile base there. Fanfare says, "Aye. Ah lesson me own commander repeated many times, bless 'is old rusty spark where it rests." Jet's engines begin to sputter, and his frame wobbles slightly. "Come on... just a little closer..." "That hangar's starting to look real good," Silverbolt's comments can barely be heard over his engines' roar. "Not far now..." Brainstorm says, "I can't go any higher than this!" Sureshot says, "Then release the cables, Brainstorm! We'll send a shuttle down to pick you up." Fanfare says, "Ah haven't landed yet. Ah ken intercept an' chauffer ye home Brainstorm" Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven> has left. You follow Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven>. Scattershot boards Autobot Flagship . Orion Pax - Hangar Bay(#1968RLt) This yawning chamber is the reason the entire star carrier exists, and runs a substantial portion of the length of the kilometer-long starship. In fact, if certain cargo modules were moved around, one could stow an entire Nimitz-class aircraft carrier within the Ark II's hangar hold if one so chose to do so. (Or if Broadside just wanted to stretch his legs, so to speak.) The area is a flurry of activity, offering sensory overload to any one individual who attempts to track all that is going on here at any given time. Several gleaming orange Autobot shuttles rest in parking booths, with a number of umbilical fuel hoses attached to their ventral connection ports. Service vehicles (and possibly vehicle-mode Autobots) wiz back and forth, and the constant hiss and clanging of machinery fills the air. From time to time, warning lights flash as a ship taxis towards one of the massive airlock-lifts, which lead to the carrier's surface deck. Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven> enters the ship from Lookout Point -- Nebulos. Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven> has arrived. From Outside: Scattershot has left. From Outside: Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven> has left. Silverbolt enters the ship from Lookout Point -- Nebulos. Silverbolt has arrived. From Outside: Silverbolt has left. From Outside: First Aid makes it to the port side, and everything looks decent there as well. The Steelhaven slides into space, and First Aid is now holding onto the ship for a slightly different reason. It is pretty up here with no spaceship around you, he notes. No wonder Lightspeed is always going on about it. The Orion Pax looms before them, and First Aid is brought inside along with the Haven. First Aid enters the ship from Lookout Point -- Nebulos. First Aid has arrived. From Outside: First Aid has left. Brainstorm says, "Releasing cables--*pachung*--cables away! Woah..." Auto-Junk Dee-Kal says, "Steady, Master Brainstorm!" Sureshot enters the ship from Lookout Point -- Nebulos. Sureshot has arrived. From Outside: Sureshot has left. Fanfare says, "drop yer nose tae clear airspace. Th' sudden jump catches me off guard too, heh" Brainstorm says, "Alright!" Dee-Kal arrives from Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven>. Dee-Kal has arrived. Dee-Kal says, "I never felt more at home aboard, First. You know how that translates into 'Autobot'?" Dee-Kal gestures to the ragged Steelhaven. Scattershot transforms into robot mode. Combat: Dee-Kal runs a diagnostic check on Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven> Dee-Kal says, "That ship is a first class *wreck*." First Aid climbs down from the Steelhaven, having finished First Aid's Wild Spaceship Adventure. "What's that, Dee-Kal?" he asks about the translation. From Outside: Jet releases the cables from his frame, jerking unsteadily forward, his altitude rapidly rising and dropping as he tries to level himself out. "Oh, boy, that really hurt! Think I'm going to stick my engines in some ice after this. Ow." Sureshot climbs off the top of the Steelhaven, jumping down the last portion. He looks around the hanger, shakes his head, and chuckles as he opens his hand, allowing Spoilsport to transform. "To think, I spent most of this week trying to keep you folk from running off withbits of the ship, and now I've just helped you grab the whole thing." Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven> stettles to rest inside the Orion Pax's hangar bay, screeching across the floor with a grating noise of metla on metal as a number of the landing gears fail to properly deploy. More and more systems flicker out and fail. Nigthbeat is knocked clean off his feet and thrown into a bulkhead, and yet... and yet! This is an unqualified success, given that the thing is still in one piece. From Outside: Fanfare is far below, moving to intercept the Jet now, his own cargo bay doors open for the smaller one to slip in as he transmits "Aye. But ets a GOOD 'urt. " he notes "Th'kind that tells ye, ye pushed the line, an passed it, and won." From Outside: The hanger bay closes once the Steelhaven is safely aboard, though the landing might be rough. And with that, the Orion Pax continues its pass. The rumble fades, the ship moves on, and the sun returns to the sky. Dee-Kal taptaps at her Junk-icon. "The Haven is a perfect playground!" She taps her armband, and the Autobot logo. "It is a *HEAP*." You launch into interstellar space to Deep Space - Subplanar. Deep Space - Subplanar(#1424RntN) The vast galactic plane surrounds the position. Millions of stars are arrayed in a beautiful display, with the occasional nebula to break the monotony. The cold is such that no matter how insulated one can be, no matter how far removed, it penetrates, chilling every inch of even a metal body. Even simply looking out into the nothingness is enough to send chills up the spine. From Outside: Contents: Decepticon Starship < Absolution> Craniax Nebulos From Outside: Obvious exits: From Outside: Above Plane leads to Deep Space - Galactic Plane. From Outside: Spinward < S> leads to Deep Space - Subplanar. From Outside: Driftward leads to Demascus Anomaly. From Outside: Rimward leads to Deep Space - Subplanar. Scattershot shifts into his robot mode in time for a sliding, sparks-trailing landing across the hangar bay floor. He uses the tow cables still attaching him to the Steelhaven almost like a belaying line to keep himself from flying into the far wall, then walks back towards the ship, unhooking himself and dropping the cables carelessly behind him. "I think that's...the most fun I've ever had...without shooting anyone." Auto-Junk Dee-Kal says, "Ladies and gentlesmurfs, Baby is home. And what an ugly baby it is." First Aid chuckles at Dee-Kal's comment. "Well I hope you won't be offended, but we're going to do our best to undo some of that at-home Junkion feeling." First Aid gives the Steelhaven's hull another sympathetic pat for its troubles. Silverbolt waits a few millicycles for other Autobots to start checking on what they all dragged in - not to mention for the cargo bay doors to close - before releasing his cables. "Ow," he transforms with a pained expression, "it felt like I was going to tear a few parts off. We did it, though," the grimace turns to a little grin of triumph. The Concorde's nosecone snaps backward, arms and legs emerge, and finally Silverbolt's head pops up, looking slightly relieved. Sureshot frowns at Dee-Kal. "Hey, that 'heap's' been my home for over ten million years, you know." The frown increases when she calls it 'ugly," and he shakes his head. "You should have seen her when she was in her prime. She was really something then..." he says sadly, looking at the broken remains of his home. Dee-Kal flies over to Silverbolt, wraps arms around his neck before he can fend her off. Red Alert says, "Returning to orbit." From Silverbolt's neck, Dee-Kal looks to Sures with a smile. "And we got the smurf to make it look... well, if not like new, something close! We can rebuild her. We have the technology. We have the power!" She snugs Silverbolt. "And we got some heroes today!" Inside the Steelhaven, Nightbeat groans and holds his head, convalescing from the trauma of being flung into a bulkhead. He thinks, though, that Muzzle might be a bit more lucid than Nightbeat is, overall, because Muzzle is curled up and protected inside his armour. So it is Muzzle's will that leads him to scramble for something to hold on to when Red Alert announces that the Orion Pax is reutrning to orbit. First Aid continues to pat the hull as he turns to face the others, "For anyone who took part in the flying today, I'd like you to report to the repair bay sometime prior to Grimlock's mission tomorrow for a check-up. You all put quite a strain on your engines and I don't want you suffering a blow-out in the middle of a firefight." Silverbolt gently tries to pry the Junkion loose from around his neck, "What we got is engines and structural systems that probably just got ther maintenance schedules moved up," Silverbolt grins wryly as First Aid makes his announcement. "Thought so. It can wait until you've got the point of this exercise looked over," he nods at First Aid, "I doubt I'm the only one who can use a refuel after pulling that thing." Dee-Kal loosens her grip, but snuggles Silverbolt once more before letting him go. Sureshot finally shakes himself out of his reverie and looks around at the others. "I'm going to go see how the inside fared after all of that." He heads towards the gaping wound that is the Steelhaven's hanger, then pauses and turns back towards the other. "Uhm. Thanks," he gets out, before entering the ship., Sureshot has left. Sureshot boards Autobot Heavy Cruiser < Steelhaven>. Scattershot gives the Steelhaven a last speculative glance, then turns and marches deeper into the Pax. "Got it Doc. I'd better get this over with."